Volume 01 · Spring 2026Pages from Elsewherea travel journal by OilBangkok to elsewhere

A travel journal of places, meals and rooms worth remembering.

Skip the book, go to the contents

Contents

Rooms, tables and quiet mornings

  1. 01Journalp. 3
  2. 02Staysp. 10
  3. 03Tablesp. 15
  4. 04Placesp. 22
  5. 05The Atlasp. 26
  6. 06Aboutp. 27
  7. 07Lettersp. 28

Chapter 01

Journal

6 essays, written for memory first

Bangkok, Thailand

A morning at the river, Bangkok
A morning at the riverThe city was already awake, but the room still felt like a secret.Read →p. 014

Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto in the rain, Kyoto
Kyoto in the rainRain is not bad weather here. It is the correct weather.Read →p. 022

Muscat, Oman

The blue hour in Muscat, Muscat
The blue hour in MuscatSome cities perform for you. Muscat simply continues, and lets you watch.Read →p. 031

Koh Yao Noi, Thailand

The island that slowed us down, Koh Yao Noi
The island that slowed us downBy day three we had stopped checking the time. By day four, the phone.Read →p. 040

Paris, France

A long lunch in Paris, Paris
A long lunch in ParisThe kind of lunch where nobody checks the time.Read →p. 048

Northern Line, Thailand

Notes from a night train, Northern Line
Notes from a night trainA hotel room that moves. What more do you want from transport.Read →p. 057

Chapter 02

Stays

4 hotels worth remembering

Bangkok, Thailand

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
Mandarin OrientalA hotel that has been practising calm for 150 years, and it shows.Read →p. 102

Muscat, Oman

The Chedi, Muscat
The ChediBlack, white, water and silence, arranged by someone with perfect nerves.Read →p. 108

Kyoto, Japan

A ryokan on the Kamo, Kyoto
A ryokan on the KamoSixteen rooms, one river, and a definition of service we are still adjusting to.Read →p. 114

Koh Yao Noi, Thailand

Six Senses Yao Noi, Koh Yao Noi
Six Senses Yao NoiA hillside of villas pointed at the most cinematic bay in Thailand.Read →p. 120

Chapter 03

Tables

Meals I still think about

Breakfast · Bangkok

Breakfast by the Chao Phraya, Bangkok
Breakfast by the Chao PhrayaTwo hours at one table and nobody suggested we leave. The rice soup with ginger is the quiet star.Read →p. 203

Lunch · Paris

A long lunch in the 6th, Paris
A long lunch in the 6thThe kind of lunch where nobody checks the time. Three hours, two carafes, both desserts.Read →p. 218

Dinner · Bangkok

A crab omelette in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok
A crab omelette in Phra NakhonCooked over charcoal by a woman with ski goggles and total authority. The queue is part of the recipe.Read →p. 207

Coffee · Kyoto

A kissaten morning, Kyoto
A kissaten morningA seventy-year-old coffee room where the toast is a centimetre thick and the silence is part of the service.Read →p. 214

Dessert · Bangkok

Mango sticky rice in Thonglor, Bangkok
Mango sticky rice in ThonglorA dessert with three ingredients and zero room for error. Here, there is no error.Read →p. 210

Street food · Chiang Mai

The night market, north gate, Chiang Mai
The night market, north gateKhao soi from a stall that has made one dish for thirty years. Specialisation is a form of love.Read →p. 222

Chapter 04

Places

3 city chapters

Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand
BangkokGold roofs, brown river, twelve million people being patient with each other.Read →p. 301

Japan

Kyoto, Japan
KyotoA thousand years of taste, kept behind paper doors, open if you are quiet.Read →p. 309

Oman

Muscat, Oman
MuscatWhite city, dark mountains, frankincense on the evening air.Read →p. 317

Chapter 05

The Soft Atlas

A map of memories, drawn like a book, not a dashboard. Every marker is a page.

Open the atlas →

Chapter 06

The person holding the pen

Born in Thailand, at home wherever breakfast is taken seriously.

Meet the author →

Chapter 07

Letters from the next page

Occasional travel notes, hotel finds and food memories. No schedule, no noise.

Receive the letters →
Notes
The cover
Browse the guide ↓Continue to the contents ↓

Contents

The table of contents

Every place gets a chapter. Every chapter earns its page.

Chapter 01Journalp. 3Chapter 02Staysp. 10Chapter 03Tablesp. 15Chapter 04Placesp. 22Chapter 05The Atlasp. 26Chapter 06Aboutp. 27Chapter 07Lettersp. 28

The latest chapter

A morning at the river

Page 014 Bangkok, Thailand

Mandarin tea, river light and the kind of breakfast you remember longer than planned.

The city was already awake, but the room still felt like a secret.

February 2026 · 6 min read

Turn to page 014 →

Or leaf through the preview →

The river at 7:10 in the morning, before the heat.The river at 7:10 in the morning, before the heat.The city was already awake, but the room still felt like a secret.From page 014
Breakfast, second pot of tea.Breakfast, second pot of tea.Breakfast, second pot of tea.A note in the margin
Across the water, the temple roofs catch first light.Continue on page 014 →
Page 1 of 3

Chapter 01 · Journal

The diary pages

All entries →

Essays written for memory first, readers second.

Diary
A morning at the river, Bangkok
Page 014 BangkokA morning at the riverThe city was already awake, but the room still felt like a secret.February 2026Diary
Kyoto in the rain, Kyoto
Page 022 KyotoKyoto in the rainRain is not bad weather here. It is the correct weather.November 2025Diary
The blue hour in Muscat, Muscat
Page 031 MuscatThe blue hour in MuscatSome cities perform for you. Muscat simply continues, and lets you watch.January 2026Diary
The island that slowed us down, Koh Yao Noi
Page 040 Koh Yao NoiThe island that slowed us downBy day three we had stopped checking the time. By day four, the phone.December 2025Diary
A long lunch in Paris, Paris
Page 048 ParisA long lunch in ParisThe kind of lunch where nobody checks the time.October 2025Diary
Notes from a night train, Northern Line
Page 057 Northern LineNotes from a night trainA hotel room that moves. What more do you want from transport.February 2026

Chapter 02 · Stays

Stays worth remembering

All stay notes →

Hotels reviewed the way you remember them: by atmosphere, not amenities.

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Stay note 102 Bangkok, Thailand

Mandarin Oriental

A hotel that has been practising calm for 150 years, and it shows.

Atmosphere
Exceptional
Design
Quiet heritage
Service
Warm and precise
Breakfast
Worth staying in for

Would return Yes. For the breakfast alone, and we said so out loud.

The Chedi, Muscat

Stay note 108 Muscat, Oman

The Chedi

Black, white, water and silence, arranged by someone with perfect nerves.

Atmosphere
Monastic, in the best way
Design
Quiet luxury, the real kind
Service
Invisible until needed
Breakfast
Plan your morning around it

Would return Yes, in winter, with more books.

Chapter 03 · Tables

Meals I still think about

All table notes →

Not reviews. Memories with addresses.

Breakfast by the Chao Phraya, Bangkok
BreakfastBreakfast by the Chao PhrayaBangkok, ThailandTwo hours at one table and nobody suggested we leave. The rice soup with ginger is the quiet star.
A crab omelette in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok
DinnerA crab omelette in Phra NakhonBangkok, ThailandCooked over charcoal by a woman with ski goggles and total authority. The queue is part of the recipe.
Mango sticky rice in Thonglor, Bangkok
DessertMango sticky rice in ThonglorBangkok, ThailandA dessert with three ingredients and zero room for error. Here, there is no error.
A kissaten morning, Kyoto
CoffeeA kissaten morningKyoto, JapanA seventy-year-old coffee room where the toast is a centimetre thick and the silence is part of the service.
A long lunch in the 6th, Paris
LunchA long lunch in the 6thParis, FranceThe kind of lunch where nobody checks the time. Three hours, two carafes, both desserts.
The night market, north gate, Chiang Mai
Street foodThe night market, north gateChiang Mai, ThailandKhao soi from a stall that has made one dish for thirty years. Specialisation is a form of love.

Chapter 05 · The Atlas

The soft atlas

A map of memories, drawn like a book, not a dashboard.

Every marker is a page: a stay, a table, a walk, a view. Open the atlas and follow the dotted line of the last six months.

Open the atlas →
ParisKyotoMuscatChiang MaiBangkokKoh Yao NoiN

Letters from the next page

Occasional travel notes, hotel finds and food memories. No schedule, no noise.